Cranky Crew Could Start The 1st Battles In Space

December 27, 1985|By United Press International

GAINESVILLE — If space agencies fail to consider the social and psychological effects of longterm missions in space, the first star wars may be fought in their own spaceships, a researcher said Thursday.

''Our whole focus on research has been toward resolving the technological problems of spaceflight,'' said Anne Campbell, a University of Florida graduate student.

''As we move toward long-term missions where astronauts are isolated and confined to environments away from Earth, we're going to have to start looking at the psychological and social problems of group interaction.''

Campbell said that the success of colonization will hinge on how well humans get along in orbit.

''You can't just get in your car and drive away when you're mad,'' she said.

Campbell, who specializes in bilingual education, began looking into the difficulties of long-term space travel as part of a special project.

She said Russian cosmonauts have experienced some problems of long missions.

''One thing they've done is send foods along so the cosmonauts will have familiar smells like cookies,'' she said. ''They also schedule weekly phone visits with families. They try to meet the needs of the group by creating a familiar environment.''

Campbell said there were few conflicts among the first American astronauts because all were military pilots.

''Now you've got perhaps 15 different roles represented up there: technicians, journalists -- they've even got a teacher going up. All of those different backgrounds living and working in a very confined area,'' she said. Campbell said astronauts are reluctant to talk about any conflicts or hostilities for fear they may be grounded. She said NASA should assign psychologists to train with the astronauts to help them deal with their feelings.

''If you've got someone up there undergoing a psychological breakdown, you can't just put them on the wall with duct tape and restrain them until you get back,'' she said. ''I would suggest that we start seeing psychologists as the people who can keep us up in space once we get there.''